A Music/Media site that strives to provide thought provoking coverage of All Bands that Jam. As our music community grows hopefully the magic that started "this" will keep shining it's lovelight. We at Grateful Music are a company started by a fan and still run for the love of music for fans. Everybody is Super Heady in our sandbox. Nothing left to do but smile!

Video Bar

Loading...

Thursday, February 13

Sister Sparrow And The Dirty Birds have
been entertaining crowds and gaining fans throughout the country over
the last five years, offering up an energy packed evening full of
original music with the occasional cover sprinkled in along the way.
Starting off 2014 in their hometown the band decided to do something
special by covering an entire album. Coming together the band began
to throw around idea after idea until they were able to narrow it
down to ten albums. With that done the fans were then given the
option to vote on the one album they most wanted to hear. the fans
were faced with selection ranging from Aretha Franklin to The Band.
Each of these albums offered plenty of unique reasons why it should
be the winner, but in the end the fans spoke overwhelmingly selecting
Led Zeppelin IV. Leaving the band faced with the task of covering one
of music’s greatest bands of all time.

The completely sold venue was packed
with fans shuffling around in search of the perfect spot all waiting
for the band to take the stage. There was an overwhelming buzz
throughout the room as the band quickly huddled up one last time
before taking the stage. As this was happening I caught a glimpse of
Sister Sparrow herself doing some last second pushup’s back stage,
making it clearly obvious that the fans were not the only ones amped
up for this performance. Drawing from this energy the band jumped
right into a well-crafted version of Michael Jacksons “The Way You
Make Me Feel.” This upbeat tune seemed to be a perfect start for
the evening, allowing the band to get into a groove that found the
whole venue dancing and singing along. With the night in full swing
it become apparent that they are giving the packed house much more
than just a cover album as they rip into the evenings 4th
song and a band original “Make It Rain”.

Showcasing the powerful
horn section as well as Jackson’s stellar harmonica work this song
has Sister Sparrow herself dancing around the stage, delivering one
the most soulful performances of this tune I have seen. Keeping this
type of energy up throughout an evening is not an easy task but one
the band seems more then equal to as the crowd instantly recognizes
the powerful horn and bass intro and begins to scream “Crawdaddies
“ as the band rips right into it. This song happens to be one of
my favorites, fully allowing a new comer to their music to hear
exactly what they can do individually and as a collective. Closing
out the first portion of this evening on an extremely high note as
the lights begin to dim and then band seems to take a brief moment to
prepare for what lie ahead.

As the lights return to the stage the
band jumps right into Zeppelin IV, exactly what this venue full of
fans had come to see. Right out of the gates it became apparently
clear the band took much care and time reworking the album to fit
their overall make-up, with the horns taking on some of Jimmy’s
scorching guitar parts for this take of “Black Dog.” Lead singer
Arleigh’s sultry vocals added a dark yet beautiful level of passion
to next tune on the album “Rock & Roll.” As the band who
seemed to be on fire from the opening notes worked in some
well-placed “Bulls On Parade” teases, adding even more life to
this already high energy classic, further placing their unique stamp
on this legendary tune. The crowd who mostly seemed to be hanging on
each note as the evening progressed erupted almost as if they weren’t
expecting to hear “Stairway To Heaven.” This version was sped up
slightly while still keeping the beauty of the song intact,
intricately working their way through this timeless tune. Next up was
“Misty Mountain Hop” instantly bringing the crowd right back to a
peak energy as the band decided to push the envelope just a bit
further dropping into “Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes” off of
Graceland by Paul Simon. This was very much unexpected and very well
done as the band transitioned between the two seamlessly, creating a
beautiful version of this song. With the set winding down Arleigh
thanked the crowd once again for being a part of this special evening
and for selecting this amazing album for the band to play, giving
Sasha and Josh the chance to trade their instruments for a 12 string
and Acoustic respectively, leading the band into “Going To
California.” This beautiful song was a treat showing the emotional
and tender side of a band that Has shown they can do it all, giving
the crowd a chance to soak it all in while catching a quick breath
before the extremely high powered “When The Levee Breaks” all
butlifted the roof off. With Bram’s powerful drums driving the
tight and energetic interplay between the harmonica and guitar the
band drove this album home, adding an extra level of power by
bringing 3 members of “Zongo Junction’s” horn section into the
mix. This was a maybe my favorite arrangement of the evening showing
off the all-around talents of the band while ending the album and set
in excellent fashion.

With the crowd demanding the night
continue the band who had already left the stage returned thanking
the packed house once again before treating them to one last Zeppelin
tune “D’yer Mak’er.” This reggae infused tune off the Houses
Of The Holy album was a fitting choice to end the evening taking one
a whole new feel with the band mixing in some of their own tune
“Vices.” This was indeed a very special evening from well
delivered originals to the fans getting there choice album. Delivered
in such a way that would have made the boys of Led Zeppelin
themselves proud, while managing to add a fresh and unique twist
making it all their own. As a fan of Sister Sparrow And The Dirty
Birds and of live music I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.
Upon leaving the venue I couldn’t help but wonder if this may just
one day become the start of a yearly tradition, that I for one would
be honored to witness time and time again.